The Virginian-Pilot
©
KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C.
Police evacuated homes, closed U.S. 158 to traffic and called in a Marine bomb squad after the owners of a Kill Devil Hills ice cream shop reported finding a peculiar-looking plastic tube stashed under a light-pole fixture Wednesday morning.
Detonated hours later, the odd contraption turned out to be an unlabeled geocache device - the object in a worldwide hide-and-seek phenomenon governed by GPS coordinates. Inside the tube were small pieces of paper bound by a zip tie. Some were labeled with earlier hiding places, such as Stumpy Point, and some had messages, including: "I scream for ice cream."
It may have been a false alarm, but this wasn't an overreaction, Kill Devil Hills police Sgt. John Towler said.
"That would freak anybody out," Towler said as he reviewed photos of the cache taken before it was detonated.
About 10:30 a.m., workers at Kill Devil's Frozen Custard & Beach Fries saw a bald, stocky man in his 30s who to them appeared to be acting strangely. He had a military-style duffel bag and was fiddling with something that he eventually hid under the light pole. He drove away in a car with Pennsylvania tags.
Owners Mike and Kathy Wiechec went outside to investigate. They found a 7-inch plastic tube propped up by a stick. Unnerved, the Wiechecs called police.
"It looked spooky enough for me," Mike Wiechec said.
Local police agreed and called in the Marine Explosive Ordnance Disposal team from Cherry Point, N.C., which removed the device with a robot and detonated it in a nearby field.
Now police are urging fans of the game to clearly label their caches. And they'd like to know who left this one.
"We'll be wanting to talk to him," Towler said.
Erin James, (252) 441-1711, erin.james@pilotonline.com
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Is it better to be safe than
Is it better to be safe than sorry? Sure. Does that mean that this story isn't hilarious? Absolutely not. And to those who think all such activities should be viewed as serious threats or that anyone playing a similar game should notify the authorities? Lighten up. Next you'll be treating games of hide and seek, scavenger hunts, and Easter Egg hunts the same way. These agencies have access to good intelligence data but missed the obvious here. That's why it's so amusing. There's nothing wrong with having a good laugh at a public guffaw, but there is something very wrong with anyone who can't.
Just for the Record
As a former Geocacher, we all know that we're only SUPPOSED to put/hunt caches on our own property, or property that we have permission to place/hunt a cache on. BUT most geocachers seem to ignore that advisement on the Geocaching site. Maybe law enforcement should check the Geocache site when something like this happens again, for their own peace of mind. Oh, & BTW, there's another Geocache at the base of a light pole in a strip mall parking lot in Ashburn too...just in case anyone there sees anything suspicious. ;-)
And
That guy in New York City was just geocaching a car full of explosives. Timothy McVeigh just was playing an on-line game with the truck. Who's to tell the difference? If it HAD been a bomb, and had gone off and killed people, would people still say it was just a game, or would they be all over the authorities for not acting?
I agree that the gamester should have notified the authorities first, but lacking that, the authorities did exactly the right thing!
They will be wanting to talk to him?
Why would they need to speak to the man who was seaking out the cache? its not like he has done anything wrong he was playing the game. I'm sure he did look like he was up to something.....because he was....he was trying to find his treasure he drove from PA to find without anyone seeing him. He most likely had item in his bad to replace if the cache was one that you would take something and replace it with something. Instead it was a tube. This is actually a VERY cool game (something very fun to do with kids or grandkids) and you can play it anywhere! All you need is a GPS and your in the game. Its great on the OBX. I hope the Police put the tube back.
Not overreaction
This is in no way an overreaction. Those who think it was were not involved with the World Trade Center. They do not understand that these terrorists are committed to destroy the christian world and take as many innocent lives any way they can. Our cities are protected as best as they can be. What better place to create mayhem than in a small tourist community.
No, not overreaction, caution. And I for one would rather see that than no reaction and death.
To quote" If you see something, say something."
how dumb . andy and barney
how dumb . andy and barney strike again. good thing the strategic icecream shop lightpole is safe from 'terror' sheesh
Suspicious my hind end
Most geocaches are small boxes our tubes like described.
This is a huge overreaction. Hera hoping geocachers start boycotting the OBX. I know I won't be going to that shop again. The first thing the police could have done was check the Geocaching websites to see if something was at that spot.
Perhaps it was
or perhaps next time they are playing their game during heightened security alerts they can contact local law enforcement and give them a heads up. You know, work together.
So you''re saying that next time...
the geocachers should go up to the police station and say "Hey, I'm going to go to this geocache that's been at this site for (probably) two years and is well marked online and look into it, add a note, and read other notes... no need to blow it up"?
Yeah, that's reasonable.
yes. and responsible if
yes. and responsible if your games are being played in the public arena